3rd of Ashan, Arc 721
Ashan, the breath of fresh air after 30 trials of no sun. No matter that the temperatures haven't really risen, just the fact that there is a slight chance to see the sun had improved the mixed blood's mood. There was a little pep in his step, as well as, you could catch the boy humming to himself more often. Homework seemed less complicated, people were nicer, food was tastier and it was getting closer to the time when he would be able to dig around his garden. Maybe, even arrange a greenhouse this arc. Life was full of possibilities.
For Serpent's Remedies it was the time of the arc when they would lock up for few days to do through-out cleaning, as well as, take stock of EVERYTHING they had, starting from products and ending with tools. Nicholas couldn't say that it sounded like a lot of fun, but, at least, he escaped the basement duty, in that place taking stock. Which was its own specific type of torture, but, at least, somehow linked to chemistry. Plus, the boy was a bit interested in seeing the full list of things you could find in the apothecary.
As arranged trial before, Nicholas arrived early. The backdoor was located in a narrow, slightly shady-looking, alley. Like the whole building, it was made from heavy and sturdy dark wood, decorated with black metal ornaments. After few hefty knocks, the boy could hear light footsteps after which it didn't take long for the door to open.
"Nicholas, great! Come on in, we have a lot to do!" Mr. Inkwell, a bony, tall, middle-aged man, let him in, quickly closing the door afterward to not let the cold in. "Mark already got here, so I sent him to the bakery for something to snack on before we start. He should be here soon, so you can put on the water." Nicholas nodded after leaving his coat in the backroom and placing the kettle to boil. It has been a whole season since he had seen the old man. He had decided to spend Cylus in Almund, sending a letter or two to Scalvoris Town just to keep in touch. Now the boss was back, everyone feeling glad about it.
"So, my boy, tell me how have you been? How's the university? Any new customers wooed?" The old man snickered, crossing his long legs in the chair, while the young boy in front of him was turning a shade of pink.
"Ummm...Sir...Maste...It was one time and how should I have known that he's a big deal!? It was one date and I did promise afterward that it won't happen ever again, right!" Nicholas whined, covering his face with clawed hands. "Please, give me a break."
To that, the apothecarist warmly laughed, slowly getting up as he heard someone banging at the backdoor again. "And I said that I don't mind. You're young, live a little. These are crazy times." The half-avriel wanted to ask more but the man was already gone, his voice indicating that it was, indeed, Mark that had knocked.
After half-a-break, or so, when everyone had arrived, had tea and pastries, as well as, were done teasing the bird boy(of course, led by Mark and Mr. Inkwell), people spread out to start their assigned tasks. Nicholas let out a heavy sight as he trudged to the second floor, where one could find the lab, as well as, office for paperwork. It was there, where they stored all the books of their stock and inventory. He didn't spend there a lot of time, soon moving to the lab, so he could start the tortures task of counting each and every object. Still better than cleaning the basement.
Vials, different types of flasks, bottles for storing, both, ingredients, as well as, end results. Purely number-wise, they had a lot, but he knew they will need to stock up soon enough. Some of the tools the boy knew well, using them daily in university and here, at work, but for most, he hadn't known their names till today. This was one of the reasons why Mr. Inkwell switched to doing his own paperwork in the lab. At one point Nicholas could keep himself from asking, though. " Mr. Inkwell, wouldn't it be easier if someone from the senior employees did this? You wouldn't need to babysit me." To that the man chuckled, stating that he rather have the young Erobern learn this while they have a chance, before turning back to his own writing.
It took a good couple of breaks before Nicholas wrote everything down regarding the tools, but that wasn't even scratching the surface, as next followed all the ingredients they have been storing. As before, much of it was still a mystery to the boy, as he recognized only the most commonly used ingredients. Now, though, he had fun with it, learning one new name after another, even getting out some explanations over how to use them.
"This bottle," Mr. Inkwell pointed at the small vial of clear, greenish-yellow liquid, "Has Sea Krait venom. It's a powerful relaxant harvested from a water snake. If prepared properly, one can make ointments to relax stiff joints and other sprains. It can, also, be used in advanced strength training, but one shouldn't overdo it or else." The man then passed it back to the red-head who carefully put it back in a black metal safe. "To acquire some the best bet is making friends with someone who's mer. Good luck with that, though."
Another specific moment was when he was sorting a storage room he hadn't been to before. Apparently, it was used to keep ingredients for poisons, as well as, antidotes, it being full of a wide variety of ground, dried body parts.
"Many serpents can be used fully in medicine, as well as, alchemy. Some of the best potions come from serpents, though, you need to be doing it for a long time to pull it off. Also, it's not cheap." At that point the red-head was swallowing almost every word, completely forgetting that he should be working. It did make him remember Devin's question all those seasons ago when coming to the apothecary. Was this the reason for the name?
As the trial slowly approached its end, Nicholas was also soon to wrap up the second floors inspection. It ended up being interesting, as well as, educating, but the sheer amount, paired up with many heavy boxes had led the boy to feel tired and sore. The last two breaks were spent on the first floor. He wanted to get a head start with jotting down their current stock, hoping that then he could leave faster tomorrow. The half-avriel had still plenty of reading do for his Chemistries History class. This wasn't even near as interesting, as his previous activities just because he knew the first floor almost as good, as his own house. While everyone acknowledged that Nicholas wasn't a fan of the front desk work, he still was the best one between a bunch of introverted students. He wasn't good...But was the least bad. Even with feathers and claws.
So, sleepy and sore, he forced himself for the last couple of breaks. Was there a possibility that he will need to fix a bunch of mistakes tomorrow? Maybe. But, at least, there is the possibility that the student will manage to save some time. Mark even helped after finishing his chores. Someone stopped from time to time to chat, and at the end of the trial, the young Erobern could tell that this day was definitely productive. Heck, he even learned a couple of cool things that could come in use later. He really hoped Ashan will go well. But before all that he needed to survive this evening, as well as, trial's after tomorrow test. Like, history was so not Nicholas's thing.
